Remote management system

ABSTRACT

A disclosed remote management system includes an electronic device; a communication adaptor; and a management apparatus connected via the communication adaptor to the electronic device and configured to remotely manage the electronic device. The communication adaptor includes a network segment specification unit for specifying a network segment to be managed, a device search unit configured to search the specified network segment to find the electronic device in the network segment, a remote management information obtaining unit configured to obtain remote management information from the found electronic device, a format verification unit configured to verify the obtained remote management information, an invalid device information sending/reporting unit configured to send or report electronic device information of the electronic device if the remote management information is invalid, and a change request sending unit configured to send a change request including updated remote management information to the electronic device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a remote management systemincluding a management apparatus that remotely manages electronicdevices (e.g., a copier, a fax machine, and a printer) via acommunication adaptor.

2. Description of the Related Art

Patent document 1 discloses a remote management system where imageforming apparatuses (office appliances) such as copiers in a user'soffice (or client's office) are connected via a communication adaptor(data communication device) and a communication line such as a publicline to a central management apparatus (management apparatus) in aservice center.

[Patent document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No.2000-29354

In the disclosed remote management system, each office appliance in theclient's office has a self-diagnosis function that sends servicepersoncall (SC) information, which indicates, for example, a malfunction orfailure of the office appliance, a maintenance timing, or a timing forreplacing a consumable, via the communication adaptor and thecommunication line to the management apparatus. When receiving the SCinformation, the management apparatus transfers the SC information to amobile terminal (e.g., a note PC) of a serviceperson who is in charge ofrepair, maintenance, and replacement of consumables of the officeappliance sending the SC information.

When the SC information is displayed on the mobile terminal, theserviceperson visits the client's office where the office appliance isinstalled and performs repair, maintenance, or replacement of aconsumable of the office appliance.

Meanwhile, in such a remote management system, office appliances (orelectronic devices) in a client's office are normally connected to eachother via a network such as a local area network (LAN) and managed by anetwork administrator (or a system manager) of the client.

As exemplified in (1) through (3) below, one problem with a conventionalremote management system is the heavy workload of maintaining thesystem.

(1) It is laborious for a network administrator to manage networkedoffice appliances in a remote management system.

(2) When introducing new office appliances into a client's office, aserviceperson has to confirm and reconfigure settings for remotemanagement (remote management information) of existing officeappliances.

(3) In an office where a remote management service has already beenintroduced, it often happens that remote management information (e.g., adevice ID and a certificate) of office appliances is changed or deletedas a result of repair or maintenance (e.g., replacement of amotherboard). Since the remote management service cannot be providedwithout (correct) remote management information, a serviceperson has toset up the remote management information again.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide a remote management systemthat solves or reduces one or more problems caused by the limitationsand disadvantages of the related art.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a remote managementsystem that includes an electronic device; a communication adaptor; anda management apparatus connected via the communication adaptor to theelectronic device and configured to remotely manage the electronicdevice. The electronic device includes a remote management informationretaining unit configured to retain remote management information, and aremote management information changing unit configured to change theremote management information in the remote management informationretaining unit according to a change request from the communicationadaptor. The communication adaptor includes a network segmentspecification unit for specifying a network segment to be managed, adevice search unit configured to search the specified network segment tofind the electronic device in the network segment, a remote managementinformation obtaining unit configured to obtain the remote managementinformation from the found electronic device, a format verification unitconfigured to determine whether the obtained remote managementinformation is in a predetermined format, an invalid device informationsending/reporting unit configured to determine that the remotemanagement information is invalid remote management information if theremote management information is not in the predetermined format and tosend or report electronic device information of the electronic deviceretaining the invalid remote management information, and a changerequest sending unit configured to receive updated remote managementinformation returned in response to the sent or reported electronicdevice information and to send the change request including the updatedremote management information to the electronic device retaining theinvalid remote management information.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a remote managementsystem that includes an electronic device; a communication adaptor; anda management apparatus connected via the communication adaptor to theelectronic device and configured to remotely manage the electronicdevice. The electronic device includes an encrypted communication unitconfigured to perform mutual authentication, an individual certificateretaining unit configured to store an individual certificate used as amutual authentication certificate, the individual certificate includingidentification information for identifying the electronic device, acommon certificate retaining unit configured to store a commoncertificate, the common certificate including common identificationinformation for identifying a group of electronic devices to be managed,and an individual certificate changing unit configured to change theindividual certificate in the individual certificate retaining unitaccording to a change request sent from the communication adaptor viaencrypted communication using the common certificate. The communicationadaptor includes an encrypted communication unit configured to performmutual authentication, a network segment specification unit forspecifying a network segment to be managed, a device search unitconfigured to search the specified network segment to find theelectronic device in the network segment, a device information obtainingunit configured to obtain electronic device information from the foundelectronic device via encrypted communication, a certificateverification unit configured to verify the mutual authenticationcertificate used in the encrypted communication when the deviceinformation obtaining unit obtains the electronic device information, aninvalid device information sending/reporting unit configured to send orreport the electronic device information obtained by the deviceinformation obtaining unit as invalid electronic device information ifthe mutual authentication certificate is determined to be invalid by thecertificate verification unit, and a change request sending unitconfigured to receive a correct individual certificate returned inresponse to the sent or reported invalid electronic device informationand to send the change request including the correct individualcertificate to the electronic device retaining the invalid electronicdevice information via encrypted communication using the commoncertificate.

Still another embodiment of the present invention provides a remotemanagement system including an electronic device; a communicationadaptor; and a management apparatus connected via the communicationadaptor to the electronic device and configured to remotely manage theelectronic device. The electronic device includes a remote managementdevice information retaining unit configured to retain remote managementdevice information of the communication adaptor, and a remote managementdevice information changing unit configured to change the remotemanagement device information in the remote management deviceinformation retaining unit according to a change request from thecommunication adaptor. The communication adaptor includes a networksegment specification unit for specifying a network segment to bemanaged, a device search unit configured to search the specified networksegment to find the electronic device in the network segment, a remotemanagement device information obtaining unit configured to obtain theremote management device information from the found electronic device, acollating unit configured to compare the obtained remote managementdevice information with current remote management device information inthe communication adaptor, an invalid device informationsending/reporting unit configured to determine that the obtained remotemanagement device information is invalid remote management deviceinformation if the obtained remote management device information doesnot match the current remote management device information and to sendor report electronic device information of the electronic deviceretaining the invalid remote management device information, and a changerequest sending unit configured to receive correct remote managementdevice information returned in response to the sent or reportedelectronic device information and to send the change request includingthe correct remote management device information to the electronicdevice retaining the invalid remote management device information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary configuration of a remotemanagement system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of aserver 3 a shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of acommunication adaptor 21 shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of acontrol system of copiers 13, 23 shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating a first exemplary communication processwhere the communication adaptor 21 sends office appliance informationincluding invalid maintenance information to a center system 1;

FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating a second exemplary communicationprocess where the communication adaptor 21 sends office applianceinformation including invalid maintenance information to the centersystem 1;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a first exemplary communication processbetween the communication adaptor 21 and the center system 1 performedwhen a segment search request is generated in the communication adaptor21;

FIG. 8 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary communication processwhere the communication adaptor 21 displays office appliance informationof an office appliance retaining invalid maintenance information;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a second exemplary communication processbetween the communication adaptor 21 and the center system 1 performedwhen a segment search request is generated in the communication adaptor21;

FIG. 10 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary communication processwhere the communication adaptor 21 sends office appliance informationincluding invalid certificate information to the center system 1;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a third exemplary communication processbetween the communication adaptor 21 and the center system 1 performedwhen a segment search request is generated in the communication adaptor21;

FIG. 12 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary communication processwhere the communication adaptor 21 displays office appliance informationincluding invalid certificate information;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a fourth exemplary communication processbetween the communication adaptor 21 and the center system 1 performedwhen a segment search request is generated in the communication adaptor21;

FIG. 14 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary communication processwhere the communication adaptor 21 sends office appliance informationincluding invalid remote management device information to the centersystem 1;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a fifth exemplary communication processbetween the communication adaptor 21 and the center system 1 performedwhen a segment search request is generated in the communication adaptor21;

FIG. 16 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary communication processwhere the communication adaptor 21 displays office appliance informationof an office appliance retaining invalid remote management deviceinformation; and

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a sixth exemplary communication processbetween the communication adaptor 21 and the center system 1 performedwhen a segment search request is generated in the communication adaptor21.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary configuration of a remotemanagement system (image forming apparatus management system) 100.

The image forming apparatus management system 100 includes a centersystem 1 that is a central management system in a service center, andelectronic devices in client sites (user sites) A and B.

The center system 1 includes a router 2 and servers 3 a and 3 bconnected to each other via a network 4 such as a LAN.

Electronic devices in the client site A include a router 11, acommunication adaptor 12 connected via the router 11 and Internet 5 tothe center system 1, and office appliances (image forming apparatuses)such as a copier 13 and a printer 14. The router 11, the communicationadaptor 12, and the office appliances are connected to each other via anetwork 15 such as a LAN and form a network segment.

Electronic devices in the client site B include a communication adaptor21 connected via a public telecommunication network 6 and an accesspoint 7 to the center system 1, and office appliances such as a faxmachine 22, a copier 23 and a printer 24. The communication adaptor 21,the copier 23, and the printer 24 are connected to each other via anetwork 25 such as a LAN and the communication adaptor 21 and the faxmachine 22 are connected via a dedicated I/F 26. Thus, the electronicdevices in the client site B form a network segment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of theserver 3 a.

The server 3 a includes a CPU 31, a real-time clock circuit 32, a ROM33, a RAM 34, an external memory control unit 35, a network I/F unit 36,and a hard disk drive (HDD) 37. The server 3 b has substantially thesame configuration as that of the server 3 a. Therefore, components ofthe server 3 b other than a network I/F unit 36 and their descriptionsare omitted.

The CPU 31 is a central processing unit that controls the entire server3 a according a control program in the ROM 33. The real-time clockcircuit 32 generates time information supplied to the CPU 31. The CPU 31determines the current time based on the time information. The ROM 33 isa read-only memory storing fixed data such as a control program to beexecuted by the CPU 31. The RAM 34 is a random access memory used, forexample, as a working memory by the CPU 31 to process data. The externalmemory control unit 35 is an interface for the HDD 37.

The network I/F unit 36 interfaces the server 3 a with other devices,such as the server 3 b and the router 2, in the network 4.

The HDD 37 stores information including the latest (or current) userauthentication information (e.g., user information) and maintenancerights (access rights) of privileged users (maintenance persons) as adatabase (DB). The HDD 37 functions as an invalid device informationstoring unit and a user authentication information storing unit.Alternatively, the server 3 a may include a non-volatile memory forstoring the latest user authentication information and the maintenancerights of privileged users.

The CPU 31 of each of the servers 3 a and 3 b executes a control programin the ROM 33 and controls the RAM 34, the external memory control unit35, and the network I/F unit 36 to implement a remote managementinformation sending unit, an individual certificate sending unit, aremote management device information sending unit, a user authenticationunit, and a user authentication result sending unit according to anembodiment of the present invention.

Alternatively, the control program may be installed into an HDD or a RAMof each of the servers 3 a and 3 b from a recording medium (e.g., aflexible disk or an optical disk) inserted into an internal or externaldisk drive.

Also, a terminal (not shown) such as a personal computer is connected tothe servers 3 a and 3 b. The terminal implements a remote managementinformation input unit, an individual certificate input unit, and aremote management device information input unit according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of thecommunication adaptor 21 shown in FIG. 1. The communication adaptor 12has substantially the same configuration as that of the communicationadaptor 21, and therefore descriptions and illustration of thecommunication adaptor 12 are omitted here. The communication adaptor 12is different from the communication adaptor 21 in that it communicateswith the router 11.

In the communication adaptor 21, data from the public telecommunicationnetwork 6 are first input to a line-switching circuit 41. If the datafrom the public telecommunication network 6 are directed to the faxmachine 22 connected to the communication adaptor 21, the line-switchingcircuit 41 connects the public telecommunication network 6 and the faxmachine 22. If the data are from the center system 1, the line-switchingcircuit 41 connects the public telecommunication network 6 and a modem42.

A network I/F unit 43 communicates with the office appliances such asthe copier 23 and the printer 24 connected to the network 25.

The line-switching circuit 41, the modem 42, and the network I/F unit 43are controlled mainly by the CPU 44 according to a control program(e.g., firmware) in a ROM 45.

The ROM 45 stores fixed data such as a control program to be executed bythe CPU 44. A RAM 46 stores information such as user authenticationinformation (user information, access rights, etc.) of users havingaccess rights to the office appliances. A backup battery 47 is connectedto the RAM 46. A switch 48 selects operation modes. A display unit 49displays information.

The communication adaptor 21 polls the office appliances connected toitself at intervals in the order of device addresses assigned to theoffice appliances.

The CPU 44 of each of the communication adaptors 12 and 21 executes acontrol program in the ROM 45 and controls the network I/F unit 43, theRAM 46, and the display unit 49 to implement a network segmentspecification unit, a device search unit, a remote managementinformation obtaining unit, a format verification unit, an invaliddevice information sending/reporting unit, a change request sendingunit, a device information obtaining unit, a status change detectionunit, a status change information sending unit, a user authenticationinformation input unit, a user identification unit, a userauthentication request sending unit, a remote management informationinput unit, an encrypted communication unit, a certificate verificationunit, a remote management device information obtaining unit, a collatingunit, and a remote management device information input unit according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of acontrol system of the copiers 13, 23 shown in FIG. 1. The controlsystems of the copiers 13 and 23 have substantially the sameconfiguration and therefore descriptions below are made using the copier13.

Operations of the copier 13 are controlled mainly by a CPU 101 accordingto a control program and data stored in a ROM 102. A RAM (storage unit)103, for example, stores intermediate results of processing, varioussettings, and statuses of the copier 13. The RAM 103 is implemented, forexample, by a non-volatile RAM backed up by a battery. The RAM 103implements a remote management information retaining unit, an individualcertificate retaining unit, a common certificate retaining unit, and aremote management device information retaining unit according to anembodiment of the present invention. Alternatively, the above units maybe implemented by a non-volatile storage medium such as a non-volatilememory or an HDD provided separately from the RAM 103.

An A/D converter 104 is used, for example, to input: a voltage suppliedto an exposure lamp; light-emission and light-reception voltages of a Psensor; an output from a voltage sensor; an output from an ADS sensor;an output from a light intensity sensor for detecting the intensity oflight from the exposure lamp; an output from a drum current sensor fordetecting the electric current flowing through a photoconductor drum;and a voltage of a thermistor in a fusing unit.

An optical system control unit 105 controls the exposure lamp.

A high-voltage power supply unit 106 provides high voltages applied to acharger, a separating charger, a transfer charger, and a pre-transfercharger (PTC) and also provides a developing bias voltage applied to adeveloping roller in a developing unit.

A motor control unit 107 controls a main motor that drives thephotoconductive drum, paper-feed units, and rollers in a paper-conveyingunit.

A heater control unit 108 controls electricity supplied to a fusingheater that heats a fusing roller in the fusing unit and therebymaintains the surface temperature of the fusing roller within apredetermined range.

A sensor control unit 109 controls, for example, the photodetection gainof the light intensity sensor, the photodetection gain of the ADSsensor, the photodetection gain of the P sensor, and the light-emissionvoltage of an LED of the P sensor.

A network I/F unit 110 communicates with the communication adaptor 12(or the communication adaptor 21 in the case of the copier 23).

An operations unit 111 is, for example, an operations/display panelincluding a display unit for displaying information and switches (oroperation keys) for inputting information.

The CPU 101 of each of the copiers 13 and 23 executes a control programin the ROM 102 and controls the RAM 103, the network I/F unit 110, andthe operations unit 111 to implement a remote management informationchanging unit, an encrypted communication unit, an individualcertificate changing unit, and a remote management device informationchanging unit.

Control systems of the printers 14 and 24 also have a configurationsimilar to that of the copiers 13 and 23, and therefore descriptions andillustration of the control systems of the printers 14 and 24 areomitted.

Next, control processes in the remote management system 100 according toembodiments of the present invention are described with reference toFIGS. 5 through 17. Below, for descriptive purposes, communicationsbetween the communication adaptor 21 and image forming apparatuses suchas the copier 23 and the printer 24 (hereafter called office appliances)in the client site B, and communications between the communicationadaptor 21 and the server 3 a of the center system 1 are mainlydiscussed. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that copiers 231through 233 and printers 241 through 243 are connected to thecommunication adaptor 21 in addition to the copier 23 and the printer 24shown in FIG. 1.

First Embodiment

A first embodiment of the present invention is described below.

FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating a first exemplary communication processwhere the communication adaptor 21 sends office appliance informationincluding invalid maintenance information to the center system 1.

FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating a second exemplary communicationprocess where the communication adaptor 21 sends office applianceinformation including invalid maintenance information to the centersystem 1.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a first exemplary communication processbetween the communication adaptor 21 and the center system 1 performedwhen a segment search request is generated in the communication adaptor21.

As shown in FIG. 5, the communication adaptor 21 is installed in theclient site B where the network 25 is divided into multiple networksegments. Here, it is assumed that a network segment “192.168.30.0,subnet mask: 255.255.255.0” is specified as a target network segment tobe managed, the specified network segment is searched to find officeappliances once a day at 0:00 a.m., and office appliance information(electronic device information) of the found office appliances in thenetwork segment is sent to the center system 1 once a week on Sunday at0:00 a.m.

When a segment search request is generated at a search timing “once aday at 0:00 a.m.”, the CPU 44 of the communication adaptor 21(hereafter, “the CPU 44 of the communication adaptor 21” may be simplyreferred to as “the communication adaptor 21”) searches the networksegment “192.168.30.0, subnet mask: 255.255.255.0” to find the officeappliances.

The communication adaptor 21 searches the specified network segment bychecking IP addresses 192.168.30.1 through 192.168.30.255 one by one,obtains management information base (MIB) data from each electronicdevice found by the search using the simple network management protocol(SNMP), and determines whether the electronic device is an officeappliance.

For example, the communication adaptor 21 determines that an electronicdevice is an office appliance if the electronic device responds to arequest for a Web service over the hypertext transfer protocol security(HTTPS) when obtaining the MIB data, or if the obtained MIB data (e.g.,“RFC1514 1.3.6.1.2.1.25. HOST-RESOURCES-MIB”) contain information (e.g.,“OID, hrDevicePrinter (1.3.6.1.2.1.25.3.1.5)” indicating an officeappliance.

From each of the found office appliances (for example, from the RAM 103shown in FIG. 4), the communication adaptor 21 obtains maintenanceinformation (a remote management ID (remote management information), amodel name, a model number, and a device ID), for example, via a Webservice over HTTPS, and also obtains other MIB data (e.g., “printerMIB”information) using SNMP. The communication adaptor 21 sends the obtainedinformation (office appliance information or electronic deviceinformation) of office appliances in the specified network segment tothe center system 1.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, when a segment search request isgenerated, the communication adaptor 21 searches a specified networksegment to find office appliances, obtains maintenance informationincluding remote management information (remote management ID), a modelname, a model number, and a device ID from each of the found officeappliances, and also obtains other MIB data (e.g., “printerMIB”information) from each of the found office appliances using SNMP. Then,the communication adaptor 21 checks the remote management information(remote management ID) of each of the office appliances and determineswhether the remote management information is in a predetermined (orcorrect) format.

For example, the communication adaptor 21 determines that the remotemanagement information is valid if it is composed of ten alphanumericcharacters and contains no control code, and determines that the remotemanagement information is invalid if it contains more or less than tencharacters and/or contains a control code.

The remote management information retained in an office appliance is notchangeable with a user interface of the office appliance. Therefore, ifthe remote management information of an office appliance is in a wrongformat, it is likely that the layout of office appliances in the clientsite B has been changed.

If the remote management information is invalid, the communicationadaptor 21 determines that the maintenance information including theinvalid remote management information is invalid, and sends the officeappliance information (including the invalid maintenance information andother MIB data) of the corresponding office appliance to the centersystem 1. The office appliance information to be sent to the centersystem 1 may either include an ID identifying the office appliance (FIG.6) or not include an ID identifying the office appliance (FIG. 5).

When receiving the office appliance information including the invalidmaintenance information from the communication adaptor 21, the CPU 31 ofthe server 3 a of the center system 1 stores the office applianceinformation (in a database) in the HDD 37. Then, the CPU 31 displays theoffice appliance information on a display unit of a terminal connectedto the server 3 a.

An operator checks the displayed office appliance information,determines correct maintenance information (including correct remotemanagement information), and enters the correct maintenance informationon the display unit or from an input unit of the terminal. In otherwords, the operator updates the remote management information using thedisplay unit or the input unit of the terminal.

The CPU 31 of the server 3 a sends the correct maintenance informationto the communication adaptor 21.

Alternatively, the server 3 a may perform a process described below whenthe office appliance information is received from the communicationadaptor 21. In the alternative process, the CPU 31 of the server 3 asearches a database in the HDD 37 for office appliance informationcorresponding to the received office appliance information based on, forexample, the MIB data in the received office appliance information. Ifmatching office appliance information is found, the CPU 31 automaticallydetermines correct maintenance information (including correct remotemanagement information) to be sent to the communication adaptor 21 basedon the found office appliance information.

When receiving the correct maintenance information from the centersystem 1, the communication adaptor 21 sends a change request includingthe correct maintenance information to the office appliance where theinvalid maintenance information is retained.

When receiving the change request, the CPU of the office appliancewrites the correct maintenance information into its non-volatile memory(overwrites the invalid maintenance information with the correctmaintenance information). For example, assuming that the copier 23retains invalid maintenance information, the CPU 101 of the copier 23writes the correct maintenance information into the RAM 103.

In the exemplary process described above, a specified network segment issearched once a day at 0:00 a.m. to find office appliances, and officeappliance information of the found office appliances is sent to thecenter system 1 once a week on Sunday at 0:00 a.m. In this case, theoffice appliance information of the found office appliances ispreferably obtained once a week on Sunday at 0:00 a.m. and immediatelysent to the center system 1. On the other hand, if office applianceinformation of the found office appliances is obtained once a day at0:00 a.m., the obtained office appliance information is temporarilystored in the RAM 46 and retrieved at the timing when it is sent to thecenter system 1.

Thus, according to the first embodiment, a communication adaptorsearches a specified network segment to find office appliances, obtainsremote management information from the found office appliances, anddetermines whether the obtained remote management information of each ofthe found office appliances is in a predetermined format (or valid). Ifthe obtained remote management information is invalid, the communicationadaptor sends office appliance information of the office applianceretaining the invalid remote management information to a center system(management apparatus). In response to the office appliance information,the center system returns updated (new, or correct) remote managementinformation to the communication adaptor. The communication adaptorsends a change request including the updated remote managementinformation to the office appliance retaining the invalid remotemanagement information, and the office appliance overwrites the invalidremote management information with the updated remote managementinformation. This configuration or mechanism makes it possible topromptly detect invalid remote management information of officeappliances in a client's network and to efficiently correct the invalidremote management information. This in turn reduces the workload of anetwork administrator in managing office appliances as well as theworkload of a maintenance person (serviceperson) in his/her maintenancework.

Second Embodiment

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention is described.

FIG. 8 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary communication processwhere the communication adaptor 21 displays office appliance informationof an office appliance retaining invalid maintenance information.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a second exemplary communication processbetween the communication adaptor 21 and the center system 1 performedwhen a segment search request is generated in the communication adaptor21.

In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the communication adaptor21 is equipped with a card reader 51 for user authentication and isinstalled in the client site B where the network 25 is divided intomultiple network segments.

As shown in FIG. 9, when a maintenance person (serviceperson), who issent from an outside company to perform maintenance of office applianceson the network 25, enters a segment search request from (a touch panelof) the display unit 49, the CPU 44 of the communication adaptor 21(hereafter, “the CPU 44 of the communication adaptor 21” may be simplyreferred to as “the communication adaptor 21”) prompts the maintenanceperson to insert an IC card into (or hold an IC card over) the cardreader 51 for user authentication. Alternatively, user authenticationmay be performed using an operations unit of the communication adaptor21.

The card reader 51 reads user information (user authenticationinformation) recorded in the IC card and sends the user information tothe communication adaptor 21.

When receiving the user information, the communication adaptor 21identifies the user based on the user information, and if the user is amaintenance person who is a privileged user, sends a user authenticationrequest including the user information of the maintenance person to thecenter system 1 via HTTPS (encrypted communication).

When receiving the user authentication request from the communicationadaptor 21, the CPU 31 of the server 3 a of the center system 1authenticates the user. Specifically, the CPU 31 compares the userinformation in the user authentication request with user authenticationinformation (the latest user authentication information of maintenancepersons) in a database in the HDD 37. If the user information in theuser authentication request matches user authentication information inthe HDD 37, the CPU 31 determines that the authentication has succeeded.If the user information does not match the user authenticationinformation in the HDD 37, the CPU 31 determines that the authenticationhas failed. If the authentication has succeeded, the CPU 31 generatesauthentication result information including the authentication result(authentication succeeded) and maintenance rights of the maintenanceperson and sends the authentication result information to thecommunication adaptor 21 via HTTPS. If the authentication has failed,the CPU 31 generates authentication result information including theauthentication result (authentication failed) and sends theauthentication result information to the communication adaptor 21 viaHTTPS. The CPU 31 also stores the authentication result in the HDD 37 asauthentication history.

When receiving the authentication result information from the centersystem 1, the communication adaptor 21 displays the authenticationresult in the authentication result information on the display unit 49.Also, if the authentication result indicates that the authentication hassucceeded, the communication adaptor 21 permits the maintenance personto operate (the touch panel of) the display unit 49.

Then, the maintenance person specifies a network segment on whichmaintenance is to be performed using the display unit 49 of thecommunication adaptor 21. Here, it is assumed that a network segment“192.168.30.0, subnet mask: 255.255.255.0” is specified.

The communication adaptor 21 searches the specified network segment tofind office appliances. The communication adaptor 21 searches thespecified network segment in substantially the same manner as describedin the first embodiment.

From each of the found office appliances, the communication adaptor 21obtains maintenance information (remote management information (remotemanagement ID), a model name, a model number, and a device ID), forexample, via a Web service over HTTPS, and also obtains other MIB data(e.g., “printerMIB” information) using SNMP. The communication adaptor21 stores the obtained information (office appliance information orelectronic device information) of the found office appliances in the RAM46.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the communication adaptor 21obtains maintenance information including remote management information(remote management ID), a model name, a model number, and a device IDfrom each of the found office appliances, for example, via a Web serviceover HTTPS, and also obtains other MIB data (e.g., “printerMIB”information) from each of the found office appliances using SNMP. Next,the communication adaptor 21 checks the remote management information(remote management ID) of each of the office appliances and determineswhether the remote management information is in a predetermined format(or valid). Details of this step are substantially the same as thosedescribed in the first embodiment.

If the remote management information is invalid, the communicationadaptor 21 determines that the maintenance information including theinvalid remote management information is invalid, and stores the officeappliance information (including the invalid maintenance information andother MIB data) of the corresponding office appliance in the RAM 46.Then, the communication adaptor 21 displays (reports) the officeappliance information on the display unit 49.

The maintenance person checks the office appliance information displayedon the display unit 49, determines correct maintenance information(including correct remote management information), and enters thecorrect maintenance information on the display unit 49.

The communication adaptor 21 sends a change request including thecorrect maintenance information to the office appliance retaining theinvalid maintenance information.

When receiving the change request, the CPU of the office appliancewrites the correct maintenance information into its non-volatile memory(overwrites the invalid maintenance information with the correctmaintenance information). For example, assuming that the copier 23retains invalid maintenance information, the CPU 101 of the copier 23writes the correct maintenance information into the RAM 103.

Thus, according to the second embodiment, when user authenticationinformation is entered by a user, a communication adaptor identifies theuser based on the user authentication information, and if the user is aprivileged user, sends a user authentication request including the userauthentication information of the user to a center system. Whenreceiving the user authentication request from the communicationadaptor, the center system compares the user authentication informationin the user authentication request with current user authenticationinformation (latest user authentication information of privileged users)in a database. The center system determines that the authentication hassucceeded if it finds matching user authentication information in thedatabase and determines that the authentication has failed if there isno matching user authentication information in the database. The centersystem sends the authentication result to the communication adaptor. Ifthe authentication result indicates that the authentication hassucceeded, the communication adaptor searches a specified networksegment to find office appliances, obtains remote management informationfrom the found office appliances, and determines whether the obtainedremote management information of each of the found office appliances isin a predetermined format (or valid). If the obtained remote managementinformation is invalid, the communication adaptor reports themaintenance information of the office appliance retaining the invalidremote management information to the user. When updated (new, orcorrect) remote management information is entered by the user, thecommunication adaptor sends a change request including the updatedremote management information to the corresponding office appliance, andthereby requests the office appliance to overwrite the invalid remotemanagement information with the updated remote management information.This configuration or mechanism provides substantially the sameadvantageous effects as those of the first embodiment. Also,authenticating users or maintenance persons by the center systemprevents unauthorized access (e.g., by retired personnel) and therebyimproves security of a remote maintenance system.

Third Embodiment

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention is described.

As shown in FIG. 5, the communication adaptor 21 is installed in theclient site B where the network 25 is divided into multiple networksegments. Here, it is assumed that a network segment “192.168.30.0,subnet mask: 255.255.255.0” is specified as a target network segment tobe managed, the specified network segment is searched to find officeappliances once a day at 0:00 a.m., and office appliance information ofthe found office appliances in the network segment is sent to the centersystem 1 once a week on Sunday at 0:00 a.m. It is also assumed that if astatus change of an office appliance in the network segment is detected,the communication adaptor 21 immediately sends the office applianceinformation of the office appliance to the center system 1.

The CPU 44 of the communication adaptor 21 (hereafter, “the CPU 44 ofthe communication adaptor 21” may be simply referred to as “thecommunication adaptor 21”) of the third embodiment performs a process asdescribed in the first embodiment when a segment search request isgenerated. Also, the communication adaptor 21 of this embodimentobtains, in addition to the maintenance information, device statusinformation including operational information, device status, andsetting information of office appliances in a specified network segment(e.g., once a day at 0:00 a.m.).

The communication apparatus 21 detects changes in status of the officeappliances based on the obtained device status information. If a statuschange (such as a malfunction) that necessitates maintenance of anoffice appliance is detected, the communication apparatus 21 sendsstatus change information indicating the status change of the officeappliance to the center system 1.

When receiving the status change information from the communicationadaptor 21, the CPU 31 of the server 3 a of the center system 1 storesthe status change information in the HDD 37 and displays the statuschange information on the display unit of a terminal connected to theserver 3 a.

An operator checks the status change information on the display unit andcalls a maintenance person.

The above function of the communication adaptor 21 for detecting astatus change of an office appliance in a network segment and reportingthe status change to the center system 1 may also be applied to thesecond embodiment and fourth and succeeding embodiments described later.

Thus, according to the third embodiment, a communication adaptorsearches a specified network segment to find office appliances, obtainsoffice appliance information including device status information such asoperational information, device status, and setting information from thefound office appliances, and if invalid maintenance information isfound, sends the office appliance information including the invalidmaintenance information and the device status information to a centersystem. This configuration or mechanism makes it possible for the centersystem to monitor the status of office appliances. This in turn makes itpossible to arrange office appliances freely and thereby to improve theefficiency of maintaining the office appliances.

Also, a communication adaptor of the third embodiment detects changes instatus of the office appliances based on the device status information,and if a status change (such as a malfunction) that necessitatesmaintenance of an office appliance is detected, sends status changeinformation indicating the status change of the office appliance to thecenter system. This configuration or mechanism makes it possible toreduce the workload of a network administrator of a client site inmanaging office appliances.

Fourth Embodiment

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention is described.

FIG. 10 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary communication processwhere the communication adaptor 21 sends office appliance informationincluding invalid certificate information to the center system 1.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a third exemplary communication processbetween the communication adaptor 21 and the center system 1 performedwhen a segment search request is generated in the communication adaptor21.

As shown in FIG. 10, the communication adaptor 21 is installed in theclient site B where the network 25 is divided into multiple networksegments. Here, it is assumed that a network segment “192.168.30.0,subnet mask: 255.255.255.0” is specified as a target network segment tobe managed, the specified network segment is searched to find officeappliances once a day at 0:00 a.m., and office appliance information ofthe found office appliances in the network segment is sent to the centersystem 1 once a week on Sunday at 0:00 a.m.

When a segment search request is generated at a search timing “once aday at 0:00 a.m.”, the CPU 44 of the communication adaptor 21(hereafter, “the CPU 44 of the communication adaptor 21” may be simplyreferred to as “the communication adaptor 21”) searches the networksegment “192.168.30.0, subnet mask: 255.255.255.0” to find officeappliances. The communication adaptor 21 searches the specified networksegment in substantially the same manner as described in the firstembodiment.

From each of the found office appliances, the communication adaptor 21obtains maintenance information (remote management information (remotemanagement ID), a model name, a model number, and a device ID), forexample, via a Web service over HTTPS, and also obtains other MIB data(e.g., “printerMIB” information) using SNMP. The communication adaptor21 sends the obtained information (office appliance information orelectronic device information) of the found office appliances to thecenter system 1.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, the communication adaptor 21obtains maintenance information including remote management information(remote management ID), a model name, a model number, and a device IDfrom each of the found office appliances, for example, via a Web serviceover HTTPS, and also obtains other MIB data (e.g., “printerMIB”information) from each of the found office appliances using SNMP. In thefourth embodiment, the maintenance information and other MIB data(office appliance information or electronic device information) areobtained using encrypted communication. In this process, thecommunication adaptor 21 verifies a mutual authentication certificate(hereafter, may simply be called a certificate) used in the encryptedcommunication. An office appliance may retain an individual certificateused as the mutual authentication certificate and/or a commoncertificate. An individual certificate includes identificationinformation of an electronic device and a common certificate includesidentification information for identifying a group of electronic devicesto be managed.

If an office appliance has no certificate (i.e., if the office applianceis unable to perform mutual authentication) or if its certificate is notan individual certificate but a common certificate, the communicationadaptor 21 sends office appliance information of the office appliance asinvalid office appliance information to the center system 1. In thiscase, the invalid office appliance information includes invalidcertificate information (the common certificate or certificate errorinformation indicating that no certificate is available).

When receiving the invalid office appliance information from thecommunication adaptor 21, the CPU 31 of the server 3 a of the centersystem 1 stores the invalid office appliance information (in a database)in the HDD 37. Then, the CPU 31 displays the invalid office applianceinformation on a display unit of a terminal connected to the server 3 a.

An operator checks the displayed office appliance information,determines a correct individual certificate, and enters the correctindividual certificate on the display unit or from an input unit of theterminal.

The CPU 31 of the server 3 a sends the correct individual certificate tothe communication adaptor 21.

Alternatively, the server 3 a may perform a process as described belowwhen invalid office appliance information including invalid certificateinformation (a common certificate or certificate error information) isreceived from the communication adaptor 21. In the alternative process,the CPU 31 of the server 3 a searches a database in the HDD 37 foroffice appliance information corresponding to the received officeappliance information based on, for example, the MIB data in thereceived office appliance information. If matching office applianceinformation is found, the CPU 31 automatically determines a correctindividual certificate to be sent to the communication adaptor 21 basedon the found office appliance information.

When receiving the correct individual certificate from the center system1, the communication adaptor 21 sends a change request including thecorrect individual certificate to the office appliance having theinvalid or no certificate (i.e., to the office appliance retaining theinvalid office appliance information) via encrypted communication usingthe common certificate.

When receiving the change request, the CPU of the office appliancewrites the correct individual certificate contained in the changerequest into its non-volatile memory. For example, assuming that thecopier 23 has an invalid or no certificate, the CPU 101 of the copier 23writes the correct individual certificate into the RAM 103.

Thus, according to the fourth embodiment, a communication adaptorsearches a specified network segment to find office appliances, andobtains office appliance information from the found office appliancesvia encrypted communication using an individual certificate as a mutualauthentication certificate. In this process, the communication adaptorverifies the mutual authentication certificate used in the encryptedcommunication, and if the mutual authentication certificate of an officeappliance is invalid (is not a valid individual certificate), sendsoffice appliance information of the office appliance as invalid officeappliance information to a center system. In response to the invalidoffice appliance information, a management apparatus in the centersystem sends a correct individual certificate to the communicationadaptor. The communication adaptor sends a change request including thecorrect individual certificate to the corresponding office appliance viaencrypted communication using a common certificate and thereby requeststhe office appliance to replace the invalid individual certificate withthe correct individual certificate. This configuration or mechanismprovides substantially the same advantageous effects as those of thefirst embodiment and also improves security of a remote maintenancesystem.

Fifth Embodiment

Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention is described.

FIG. 12 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary communication processwhere the communication adaptor 21 displays office appliance informationincluding invalid certificate information.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a fourth exemplary communication processbetween the communication adaptor 21 and the center system 1 performedwhen a segment search request is generated in the communication adaptor21.

In the fifth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, the communication adaptor21 is equipped with the card reader 51 for user authentication and isinstalled in the client site B where the network 25 is divided intomultiple network segments.

As shown in FIG. 13, when a maintenance person (serviceperson), who issent from an outside company to perform maintenance of office applianceson the network 25, enters a segment search request from (a touch panelof) the display unit 49, the CPU 44 of the communication adaptor 21(hereafter, “the CPU 44 of the communication adaptor 21” may be simplyreferred to as “the communication adaptor 21”) prompts the maintenanceperson to insert an IC card into (or hold an IC card over) the cardreader 51 for user authentication. Alternatively, user authenticationmay be performed using an operations unit of the communication adaptor21

When receiving authentication result information including anauthentication result from the center system 1, the communicationadaptor 21 displays the authentication result on the display unit 49,and if the authentication result indicates that the authentication hassucceeded, the communication adaptor 21 permits the maintenance personto operate (the touch panel of) the display unit 49. This authenticationprocess is substantially the same as described in the second embodiment.

Then, the maintenance person specifies a network segment on whichmaintenance is to be performed using the display unit 49 of thecommunication adaptor 21. Here, it is assumed that a network segment“192.168.30.0, subnet mask: 255.255.255.0” is specified.

The communication adaptor 21 searches the specified network segment tofind office appliances. The communication adaptor 21 searches thespecified network segment in substantially the same manner as describedin the first embodiment.

From each of the found office appliances, the communication adaptor 21obtains maintenance information (remote management information (remotemanagement ID), a model name, a model number, and a device ID), forexample, via a Web service over HTTPS, and also obtains other MIB data(e.g., “printerMIB” information) using SNMP. The communication adaptor21 stores the obtained information (office appliance information orelectronic device information) of the found office appliances in the RAM46.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, the communication adaptor 21obtains maintenance information including remote management information(remote management ID), a model name, a model number, and a device IDfrom each of the found office appliances, for example, via a Web serviceover HTTPS, and also obtains other MIB data (e.g., “printerMIB”information) from each of the found office appliances using SNMP. In thefifth embodiment, the maintenance information and other MIB data (officeappliance information or electronic device information) are obtainedusing encrypted communication. In this process, the communicationadaptor 21 verifies a mutual authentication certificate used in theencrypted communication.

If an office appliance has no certificate (i.e., if the office applianceis unable to perform mutual authentication) or if its certificate is notan individual certificate but a common certificate, the communicationadaptor 21 stores office appliance information of the office applianceas invalid office appliance information in the RAM 46. In this case, theinvalid office appliance information includes invalid certificateinformation (the common certificate or certificate error informationindicating that no certificate is available). Then, the communicationadaptor 21 displays (reports) the invalid office appliance informationon the display unit 49.

The maintenance person checks the invalid office appliance informationdisplayed on the display unit 49, determines a correct individualcertificate, and enters the correct individual certificate from thedisplay unit 49.

The communication adaptor 21 sends a change request including thecorrect individual certificate to the office appliance having theinvalid or no certificate (i.e., to the office appliance retaining theinvalid office appliance information) via encrypted communication usingthe common certificate.

When receiving the change request, the CPU of the office appliancewrites the correct individual certificate contained in the changerequest into its non-volatile memory. For example, assuming that thecopier 23 has an invalid or no certificate, the CPU 101 of the copier 23writes the correct individual certificate into the RAM 103.

Thus, according to the fifth embodiment, when user authenticationinformation is entered by a user, a communication adaptor identifies theuser based on the user authentication information, and if the user is aprivileged user, sends a user authentication request including the userauthentication information of the user to a center system. Whenreceiving the user authentication request from the communicationadaptor, the center system compares the user authentication informationin the user authentication request with user authentication information(user authentication information of privileged users) in a database. Thecenter system determines that the authentication has succeeded if itfinds matching user authentication information in the database anddetermines that the authentication has failed if there is no matchinguser authentication information in the database. The center system sendsthe authentication result to the communication adaptor. If theauthentication result indicates that the authentication has succeeded,the communication adaptor searches a specified network segment to findoffice appliances, and obtains office appliance information from thefound office appliances via encrypted communication using an individualcertificate as a mutual authentication certificate. In this process, thecommunication adaptor verifies the mutual authentication certificateused in the encrypted communication, and if the mutual authenticationcertificate of an office appliance is invalid (is not a valid individualcertificate), reports office appliance information of the officeappliance as invalid office appliance information to the user. When acorrect individual certificate is entered by the user, the communicationadaptor sends a change request including the correct individualcertificate to the corresponding office appliance via encryptedcommunication using a common certificate and thereby requests the officeappliance to replace the invalid individual certificate with the correctindividual certificate. This configuration or mechanism providessubstantially the same advantageous effects as those of the secondembodiment and also improves security of a remote maintenance system.

Sixth Embodiment

Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention is described.

FIG. 14 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary communication processwhere the communication adaptor 21 sends office appliance informationincluding invalid remote management device information to the centersystem 1.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a fifth exemplary communication processbetween the communication adaptor 21 and the center system 1 performedwhen a segment search request is generated in the communication adaptor21.

As shown in FIG. 14, the communication adaptor 21 is installed in theclient site B where the network 25 is divided into multiple networksegments. Here, it is assumed that a network segment “192.168.30.0,subnet mask: 255.255.255.0” is specified as a target network segment tobe managed, the specified network segment is searched to find officeappliances once a day at 0:00 a.m., and office appliance information ofthe found office appliances in the network segment is sent to the centersystem 1 once a week on Sunday at 0:00 a.m.

When a segment search request is generated at a search timing “once aday at 0:00 a.m.”, the CPU 44 of the communication adaptor 21(hereafter, “the CPU 44 of the communication adaptor 21” may be simplyreferred to as “the communication adaptor 21”) searches the networksegment “192.168.30.0, subnet mask: 255.255.255.0” to find officeappliances. The communication adaptor 21 searches the specified networksegment in substantially the same manner as described in the firstembodiment.

From each of the found office appliances, the communication adaptor 21obtains remote management device information (including an IP address ofthe communication adaptor 21 that manages the found office appliances),for example, via a Web service over HTTPS, and also obtains other MIBdata (e.g., “printerMIB” information) using SNMP. The communicationadaptor 21 sends the obtained information (office appliance informationor electronic device information) of the found office appliances to thecenter system 1.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 15, the communication adaptor 21obtains remote management device information (including an IP address ofthe communication adaptor 21) from each of the found office appliances,for example, via a Web service over HTTPS, and also obtains other MIBdata (e.g., “printerMIB” information) from each of the found officeappliances using SNMP. The communication adaptor 21 then obtains adevice registration status from the remote management device informationof each of the found office appliances and compares the obtained deviceregistration status with the corresponding device registration status(in the remote management device information) stored in the RAM 46.

If the device registration statuses do not match (if the obtained deviceregistration status is invalid), the communication adaptor 21 determinesthat the remote management device information is invalid, and sends theoffice appliance information (including the invalid remote managementdevice information and other MIB data) of the corresponding officeappliance to the center system 1.

When receiving the office appliance information from the communicationadaptor 21, the CPU 31 of the server 3 a of the center system 1 storesthe received office appliance information (in a database) in the HDD 37.Then, the CPU 31 displays the office appliance information on a displayunit of a terminal connected to the server 3 a.

An operator checks the displayed office appliance information,determines correct remote management device information including acorrect device registration status for the office appliance, and entersthe correct remote management device information on the display unit orfrom an input unit of the terminal.

The CPU 31 of the server 3 a sends the correct remote management deviceinformation to the communication adaptor 21.

Alternatively, the server 3 a may perform a process described below whenoffice appliance information including invalid remote management deviceinformation is received from the communication adaptor 21. In thealternative process, the CPU 31 of the server 3 a searches a database inthe HDD 37 for office appliance information corresponding to thereceived office appliance information based on, for example, the MIBdata in the received office appliance information. If matching officeappliance information is found, the CPU 31 automatically determinescorrect remote management device information including a correct deviceregistration status to be sent to the communication adaptor 21 based onthe found office appliance information.

When receiving the correct remote management device information from thecenter system 1, the communication adaptor 21 sends a change requestincluding the correct remote management device information to thecorresponding office appliance.

When receiving the change request, the CPU of the office appliancewrites the correct remote management device information into itsnon-volatile memory (overwrites the invalid remote management deviceinformation with the correct remote management device information). Forexample, assuming that the copier 23 has invalid remote managementdevice information, the CPU 101 of the copier 23 writes the correctremote management device information into the RAM 103.

Thus, according to the sixth embodiment, a communication adaptorsearches a specified network segment to find office appliances, obtainsremote management device information from each of the found officeappliances, compares the obtained remote management device informationwith current remote management device information in the communicationadaptor, and thereby determines whether the obtained remote managementdevice information is valid. If the obtained remote management deviceinformation is invalid, the communication adaptor sends office applianceinformation of the office appliance retaining the invalid remotemanagement device information to a center system. In response to theoffice appliance information, the center system returns correct remotemanagement device information to the communication adaptor. Thecommunication adaptor sends a change request including the correctremote management device information to the office appliance retainingthe invalid remote management device information, and the officeappliance overwrites the invalid remote management device informationwith the correct remote management device information. Thisconfiguration or mechanism provides substantially the same advantageouseffects as those of the first embodiment.

Seventh Embodiment

Next, a seventh embodiment of the present invention is described.

FIG. 16 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary communication processwhere the communication adaptor 21 displays office appliance informationof an office appliance retaining invalid remote management deviceinformation.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a sixth exemplary communication processbetween the communication adaptor 21 and the center system 1 performedwhen a segment search request is generated in the communication adaptor21.

In the seventh embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16, the communicationadaptor 21 is equipped with the card reader 51 for user authenticationand is installed in the client site B where the network 25 is dividedinto multiple network segments.

As shown in FIG. 17, when a maintenance person (serviceperson), who issent from an outside company to perform maintenance of office applianceson the network 25, enters a segment search request from (a touch panelof) the display unit 49, the CPU 44 of the communication adaptor 21(hereafter, “the CPU 44 of the communication adaptor 21” may be simplyreferred to as “the communication adaptor 21”) prompts the maintenanceperson to insert an IC card into (or hold an IC card over) the cardreader 51 for user authentication. Alternatively, user authenticationmay be performed using an operations unit of the communication adaptor21.

When receiving authentication result information including anauthentication result from the center system 1, the communicationadaptor 21 displays the authentication result on the display unit 49,and if the authentication result indicates that the authentication hassucceeded, the communication adaptor 21 permits the maintenance personto operate (the touch panel of) the display unit 49. This authenticationprocess is substantially the same as described in the second embodiment.

Then, the maintenance person specifies a network segment on whichmaintenance is to be performed using the display unit 49 of thecommunication adaptor 21. Here, it is assumed that a network segment“192.168.30.0, subnet mask: 255.255.255.0” is specified.

The communication adaptor 21 searches the specified network segment tofind office appliances. The communication adaptor 21 searches thespecified network segment in substantially the same manner as describedin the first embodiment.

From each of the found office appliances, the communication adaptor 21obtains remote management device information (including an IP address ofthe communication adaptor 21 that manages the found office appliances),for example, via a Web service over HTTPS, and also obtains other MIBdata (e.g., “printerMIB” information) using SNMP. The communicationadaptor 21 stores the obtained information (office appliance informationor electronic device information) of the found office appliances in theRAM 46.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 17, the communication adaptor 21obtains remote device management information (including an IP address ofthe communication adaptor 21) from each of the found office appliances,for example, via a Web service over HTTPS, and also obtains other MIBdata (e.g., “printerMIB” information) from each of the found officeappliances using SNMP. The communication adaptor 21 then obtains adevice registration status from the remote management device informationof each of the found office appliances and compares the obtained deviceregistration status with the corresponding device registration status(in the remote management device information) stored in the RAM 46.

If the device registration statuses do not match (if the obtained deviceregistration status is invalid), the communication adaptor 21 determinesthat the remote management device information is invalid, and stores theoffice appliance information (including the invalid remote managementdevice information and other MIB data) of the corresponding officeappliance in the RAM 46. Then, the communication adaptor 21 displays(reports) the office appliance information on the display unit 49.

The maintenance person checks the office appliance information displayedon the display unit 49, determines correct remote management deviceinformation including a correct device registration status for thecorresponding office appliance, and enters the correct remote managementdevice information on the display unit 49.

The communication adaptor 21 sends a change request including thecorrect remote management device information to the corresponding officeappliance.

When receiving the change request, the CPU of the office appliancewrites the correct remote management device information into itsnon-volatile memory (overwrites the invalid remote management deviceinformation with the correct remote management device information). Forexample, assuming that the copier 23 has invalid remote managementdevice information, the CPU 101 of the copier 23 writes the correctremote management device information into the RAM 103.

Thus, according to the seventh embodiment, when user authenticationinformation is entered by a user, a communication adaptor identifies theuser based on the user authentication information, and if the user is aprivileged user, sends a user authentication request including the userauthentication information of the user to a center system. Whenreceiving the user authentication request from the communicationadaptor, the center system compares the user authentication informationin the user authentication request with current user authenticationinformation (latest user authentication information of privileged users)in a database. The center system determines that the authentication hassucceeded if it finds matching user authentication information in thedatabase and determines that the authentication has failed if it doesnot find matching user authentication information in the database. Thecenter system sends the authentication result to the communicationadaptor. If the authentication result indicates that the authenticationhas succeeded, the communication adaptor searches a specified networksegment to find office appliances, obtains remote management deviceinformation from each of the found office appliances, compares theobtained remote management device information with current remotemanagement device information in the communication adaptor, and therebydetermines whether the obtained remote management device information isvalid. If the obtained remote management device information is invalid,the communication adaptor reports the office appliance information ofthe corresponding office appliance to the user. When correct remotemanagement device information is entered by the user, the communicationadaptor sends a change request including the correct remote managementdevice information to the corresponding office appliance, and therebyrequests the office appliance to overwrite the invalid remote managementdevice information with the correct remote management deviceinformation. This configuration or mechanism provides substantially thesame advantageous effects as those of the second embodiment.

Thus, embodiments of the present invention make it possible to promptlydetect problems in a remote management system caused, for example, bychanging the layout of office appliances. This in turn reduces theworkload of a network administrator in managing office appliances aswell as the workload of a maintenance person (serviceperson) in his/hermaintenance work. In other words, embodiments of the present inventionprovide a remote management system that can efficiently manage officeappliances.

The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosedembodiments, and variations and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

The present application is based on Japanese Priority Application No.2007-071223, filed on Mar. 19, 2007, the entire contents of which arehereby incorporated herein by reference.

1. A remote management system, comprising: an electronic device; acommunication adaptor; and a management apparatus connected via thecommunication adaptor to the electronic device and configured toremotely manage the electronic device; wherein the electronic deviceincludes a remote management information retaining unit configured toretain remote management information, and a remote managementinformation changing unit configured to change the remote managementinformation in the remote management information retaining unitaccording to a change request from the communication adaptor; and thecommunication adaptor includes a network segment specification unit forspecifying a network segment to be managed, a device search unitconfigured to search the specified network segment to find theelectronic device in the network segment, a remote managementinformation obtaining unit configured to obtain the remote managementinformation from the found electronic device, a format verification unitconfigured to determine whether the obtained remote managementinformation is in a predetermined format, an invalid device informationsending/reporting unit configured to determine that the remotemanagement information is invalid remote management information if theremote management information is not in the predetermined format and tosend or report electronic device information of the electronic deviceretaining the invalid remote management information, a change requestsending unit configured to receive updated remote management informationreturned in response to the sent or reported electronic deviceinformation and to send the change request including the updated remotemanagement information to the electronic device retaining the invalidremote management information, and a user authentication informationinput unit configured to allow a user to enter user authenticationinformation, a user identification unit configured to identify the userbased on the entered user authentication information, a userauthentication request sending unit configured to send a userauthentication request including the entered user authenticationinformation to the management apparatus if the identified user is aprivileged user, and a remote management information input unit forentering the updated remote management information; and the managementapparatus includes a user authentication information storing unitconfigured to store current user authentication information of theprivileged user, a user authentication unit configured to compare theentered user authentication information in the user authenticationrequest with the current user authentication information in the userauthentication information storing unit, to determine that the userauthentication has succeeded if the entered user authenticationinformation matches the current user authentication information, and todetermine that the user authentication has failed if the entered userauthentication information does not match the current userauthentication information.
 2. The remote management system as claimedin claim 1, wherein the invalid device information sending/reportingunit is configured to send the electronic device information of theelectronic device retaining the invalid remote management information tothe management apparatus; the change request sending unit is configuredto receive the updated remote management information sent from themanagement apparatus in response to the sent electronic deviceinformation and to send the change request including the updated remotemanagement information to the electronic device retaining the invalidremote management information; and the management apparatus includes aninvalid device information storing unit configured to store theelectronic device information sent from the invalid device informationsending/reporting unit of the communication adaptor, a remote managementinformation input unit for entering the updated remote managementinformation, and a remote management information sending unit configuredto send the entered updated remote management information to thecommunication adaptor.
 3. The remote management system as claimed inclaim 2, wherein the communication adaptor further includes a deviceinformation obtaining unit configured to obtain the electronic deviceinformation including device status information from the electronicdevice found by the device search unit; and the invalid deviceinformation sending/reporting unit is configured to send the electronicdevice information obtained by the device information obtaining unitfrom the electronic device retaining the invalid remote managementinformation to the management apparatus.
 4. The remote management systemas claimed in claim 3, wherein the communication adaptor furtherincludes a status change detection unit configured to detect a statuschange of the electronic device found by the device search unit based onthe device status information in the electronic device informationobtained by the device information obtaining unit; and a status changeinformation sending unit configured to send status change informationindicating the detected status change of the electronic device to themanagement apparatus if the status change necessitates maintenance ofthe electronic device.
 5. The remote management system as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the device search unit is configured to search thespecified network segment to find the electronic device in the networksegment if a user authentication result returned from the managementapparatus in response to the user authentication request indicates thatuser authentication has succeeded; the invalid device informationsending/reporting unit is configured to report the electronic deviceinformation of the electronic device retaining the invalid remotemanagement information to the user; the change request sending unit isconfigured to receive the updated remote management information enteredvia the remote management information input unit in response to thereported electronic device information and to send the change requestincluding the updated remote management information to the electronicdevice retaining the invalid remote management information and themanagement apparatus includes, and a user authentication result sendingunit configured to send the user authentication result from the userauthentication unit to the communication adaptor.
 6. The remotemanagement system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the communicationadaptor further includes a device information obtaining unit configuredto obtain the electronic device information including device statusinformation from the electronic device found by the device search unit;and the invalid device information sending/reporting unit is configuredto send the electronic device information obtained by the deviceinformation obtaining unit from the electronic device retaining theinvalid remote management information to the management apparatus.
 7. Aremote management system, comprising: an electronic device; acommunication adaptor; and a management apparatus connected via thecommunication adaptor to the electronic device and configured toremotely manage the electronic device; wherein the electronic deviceincludes an encrypted communication unit configured to perform mutualauthentication, an individual certificate retaining unit configured tostore an individual certificate used as a mutual authenticationcertificate, the individual certificate including identificationinformation for identifying the electronic device, a common certificateretaining unit configured to store a common certificate, the commoncertificate including common identification information for identifyinga group of electronic devices to be managed, and an individualcertificate changing unit configured to change the individualcertificate in the individual certificate retaining unit according to achange request sent from the communication adaptor via encryptedcommunication using the common certificate; and the communicationadaptor includes an encrypted communication unit configured to performmutual authentication, a network segment specification unit forspecifying a network segment to be managed, a device search unitconfigured to search the specified network segment to find theelectronic device in the network segment, a device information obtainingunit configured to obtain electronic device information from the foundelectronic device via encrypted communication, a certificateverification unit configured to verify the mutual authenticationcertificate used in the encrypted communication when the deviceinformation obtaining unit obtains the electronic device information, aninvalid device information sending/reporting unit configured to send orreport the electronic device information obtained by the deviceinformation obtaining unit as invalid electronic device information ifthe mutual authentication certificate is determined to be invalid by thecertificate verification unit, a change request sending unit configuredto receive a correct individual certificate returned in response to thesent or reported invalid electronic device information and to send thechange request including the correct individual certificate to theelectronic device retaining the invalid electronic device informationvia encrypted communication using the common certificate, a userauthentication information input unit configured to allow a user toenter user authentication information, a user identification unitconfigured to identify the user based on the entered user authenticationinformation, a user authentication request sending unit configured tosend a user authentication request including the entered userauthentication information to the management apparatus if the identifieduser is a privileged user, and an individual certificate input unit forentering the correct individual certificate, and the managementapparatus includes a user authentication information storing unitconfigured to store current user authentication information of theprivileged user, a user authentication unit configured to compare theentered user authentication information in the user authenticationrequest with the current user authentication information in the userauthentication information storing unit, to determine that the userauthentication has succeeded if the entered user authenticationinformation matches the current user authentication information, and todetermine that the user authentication has failed if the entered userauthentication information does not match the current userauthentication information.
 8. The remote management system as claimedin claim 7, wherein the invalid device information sending/reportingunit is configured to send the invalid electronic device information tothe management apparatus if the mutual authentication certificate isdetermined to be invalid by the certificate verification unit; thechange request sending unit is configured to receive the correctindividual certificate sent from the management apparatus in response tothe sent invalid electronic device information and to send the changerequest including the correct individual certificate to the electronicdevice retaining the invalid electronic device information via encryptedcommunication using the common certificate; and the management apparatusincludes an invalid device information storing unit configured to storethe electronic device information sent from the invalid deviceinformation sending/reporting unit of the communication adaptor, anindividual certificate input unit for entering the correct individualcertificate, and an individual certificate sending unit configured tosend the entered correct individual certificate to the communicationadaptor.
 9. The remote management system as claimed in claim 7, whereinthe device search unit is configured to search the specified networksegment to find the electronic device in the network segment if a userauthentication result returned from the management apparatus in responseto the user authentication request indicates that user authenticationhas succeeded; the invalid device information sending/reporting unit isconfigured to report the invalid electronic device information to theuser if the mutual authentication certificate is determined to beinvalid by the certificate verification unit; the change request sendingunit is configured to receive the correct individual certificate enteredvia the individual certificate input unit in response to the reportedinvalid electronic device information and to send the change requestincluding the correct individual certificate to the electronic deviceretaining the invalid electronic device information via encryptedcommunication using the common certificate; and the management apparatusincludes a user authentication result sending unit configured to sendthe user authentication result from the user authentication unit to thecommunication adaptor.
 10. A remote management system, comprising: anelectronic device; a communication adaptor; and a management apparatusconnected via the communication adaptor to the electronic device andconfigured to remotely manage the electronic device; wherein theelectronic device includes a remote management device informationretaining unit configured to retain remote management device informationof the communication adaptor, and a remote management device informationchanging unit configured to change the remote management deviceinformation in the remote management device information retaining unitaccording to a change request from the communication adaptor; and thecommunication adaptor includes a network segment specification unit forspecifying a network segment to be managed, a device search unitconfigured to search the specified network segment to find theelectronic device in the network segment, a remote management deviceinformation obtaining unit configured to obtain the remote managementdevice information from the found electronic device, a collating unitconfigured to compare the obtained remote management device informationwith current remote management device information in the communicationadaptor, an invalid device information sending/reporting unit configuredto determine that the obtained remote management device information isinvalid remote management device information if the obtained remotemanagement device information does not match the current remotemanagement device information and to send or report electronic deviceinformation of the electronic device retaining the invalid remotemanagement device information, a change request sending unit configuredto receive correct remote management device information returned inresponse to the sent or reported electronic device information and tosend the change request including the correct remote management deviceinformation to the electronic device retaining the invalid remotemanagement device information, and a user authentication informationinput unit configured to allow a user to enter user authenticationinformation, a user identification unit configured to identify the userbased on the entered user authentication information, a userauthentication request sending unit configured to send a userauthentication request including the entered user authenticationinformation to the management apparatus if the identified user is aprivileged user, and a remote management device information input unitfor entering the correct remote management device information; and themanagement apparatus includes a user authentication information storingunit configured to store current user authentication information of theprivileged user, a user authentication unit configured to compare theentered user authentication information in the user authenticationrequest with the current user authentication information in the userauthentication information storing unit, to determine that the userauthentication has succeeded if the entered user authenticationinformation matches the current user authentication information, and todetermine that the user authentication has failed if the entered userauthentication information does not match the current userauthentication information.
 11. The remote management system as claimedin claim 10, wherein the invalid device information sending/reportingunit is configured to send the electronic device information of theelectronic device retaining the invalid remote management deviceinformation to the management apparatus; the change request sending unitis configured to receive the correct remote management deviceinformation sent from the management apparatus in response to the sentelectronic device information and to send the change request includingthe correct remote management device information to the electronicdevice retaining the invalid remote management device information; andthe management apparatus includes an invalid device information storingunit configured to store the electronic device information sent from theinvalid device information sending/reporting unit of the communicationadaptor, a remote management device information input unit for enteringthe correct remote management device information, and a remotemanagement device information sending unit configured to send theentered correct remote management device information to thecommunication adaptor.
 12. The remote management system as claimed inclaim 10, wherein the device search unit is configured to search thespecified network segment to find the electronic device in the networksegment if a user authentication result returned from the managementapparatus in response to the user authentication request indicates thatuser authentication has succeeded; the invalid device informationsending/reporting unit is configured to report the electronic deviceinformation of the electronic device retaining the invalid remotemanagement device information to the user; the change request sendingunit is configured to receive the correct remote management deviceinformation entered via the remote management device information inputunit in response to the reported electronic device information and tosend the change request including the correct remote management deviceinformation to the electronic device retaining the invalid remotemanagement device information; and the management apparatus includes auser authentication result sending unit configured to send the userauthentication result from the user authentication unit to thecommunication adaptor.